Audience/Genre : Young Adult/Contemporary.
Publication : May 8th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Like his name, Gray is dark and stormy. Dylan, a girl always searching for what’s next, seemingly unable to settle down, is the exact opposite: full of light and life. On the outside, they seem like an unlikely couple. But looks can be deceiving and besides, opposites attract.
What starts as friendship, turns into admiration, respect and caring, until finally these two lone souls find they are truly in love with each other.
But staying in love is not as easy as falling in love. If Dylan and Gray want their love to last, they’re going to have to work at it. And learn that sometimes love means having to say you’re sorry.
Okay firstly, I have to say, the blurb doesn't do this book justice.
I started reading First Comes Love expecting a heart-wrenching love story but instead got something much much better. I knew right from the first chapter that I liked the direction the book was heading and about 80% in I was thinking that 5 stars wouldn't be enough to describe how much I loved this book but as you can see I rated it 4/5 , mostly because I was disappointed with the ending - it was too abrupt - and found the book too short.
Let me begin with the good stuff before I rant about my disappointments. The characters drove this story through and through. Dylan and Gray are polar opposites - she was day and he was night, they're that different but they changed each others lives completely. I loved everything about Dylan, everything she said impacted me in some way and she is definitely one of the best characters I've come across in a long time.
First Comes Love wasn't just a love story, it's a story about everything - things random, beautiful, sad and amazing, all at once. Basically anything worth thinking about. If you're someone who loves coming across wonderful, memorable and powerful quotes that make you want to write them down or something, believe me, you'll find plenty in this book. The writing's absolutely beautiful, I highlighted so many lines that I lost count.
Frankly, if not for the last 10%, I would've rated this book 10/5 if I could. The ending was too..simple and abrupt. Kacvinsky could've definitely written another 200 pages and kept the story going but out of no where, the story was done. Maybe I'm being selfish and I should be happy that for once, a book is giving me a happy ending without making me break down and cry but I just wanted more. There were still a lot of unresolved things between Dylan and Gray and after making most of the story so awesome, she ended it too easily.
Other than that, First Comes Love is definitely worth reading if you're a YA Contemporary fan and like your books to go a little deep. Words really can't describe how much I liked this book. All I can say is that it's one of the rare books that ended up meaning something to me. I could see where Dylan was coming from and relate to everything she was saying. I'm so going to be pushing everyone I know to read this.
(Some) Favorite Quotes :
"Life is too short to waste time on people who don't lift you up, who don't inspire you - they'll eventually drain you."
"If you never leave where you come from, I don't think you'll ever figure out who you are," she says. "Because how much is forced on you? How much of your personality is imposed instead of created? That's why I left. I think people need to leave in order to find their potential."
"That's one thing I'll never be - mysterious. I put it all out there."
It's so funny -- I really, really disliked this book based on the characters, while you loved it based on the same thing. Everything about them, from their names onward, I just did not like. But that's what makes books and reading that much better -- the different ways books relate to each reader.
ReplyDeleteI know right? Ssometimes I read a book that a lot of bloggers don't like but I ended up loving it..or I read a book that everyone loved but I didn't (case in point, The Mortal Instruments, I liked it but just didn't love it as much as a lot of people I know did).
DeleteI just read another good review for this book. So excited for it! Sucks about the abrupt ending, it sounds un-satisfying, but I'm glad you loved everything else!
ReplyDeleteOMG, thanks for sharing those amazing quotes, already love the writing style :) This is the 2nd great review for this book I've read today & I really have to get myself a copy, Thanks for the review!
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